Audiophilepure

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“My first experience with this amplifier was in tandem with the matching SA-KI Ruby disc player/DAC and Revel 126Be loudspeakers, which produced an extremely polished and refined result but not one that was in danger of causing the listener to break a sweat. This was a case of three rights not adding up to a wrong but neither was it a successful combo, so I concentrated on the player in a variety of systems and left the amplifier to fend for itself. And it fended rather well once I had found a sympathetic speaker. That said it didn’t do badly with my usual choice of transducer, the PMC Fact.8, which brought out the musical skills of the PM-KI Ruby rather well. I spent some time listening to vinyl spun on a Rega RP10 with Aphelion MC cartridge and was pleased to find that the MC stage on the amp had sufficient gain to produce a dynamic result where the recording warranted it. Not all my favourite music is that well produced, however, and where compression has been used the Marantz will make it fairly clear. It’s a usefully transparent amplifier albeit one with a refined presentation that can fool you into thinking that it’s smoothing over the fine detail. In fact, it’s just very fine grained and revealing – put on something raw and it will sound that way. There’s decent power and drive on Ryley Walker’s Primrose Green[Dead Oceans] but it is reined in by the annoying powers of limiting. And yet that doesn’t get in the way of the music, which is close to the performance you’d expect from a decent standalone phono stage. ”

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“Combining a high power amp, preamp, DAC, and phono in a footprint just over 14 inches wide by 13.25 deep is no small feat. Giving it the ability to be so musical is excellent engineering. Finally, having it built in North America for under $1600 is remarkable. The only thing missing is streaming software and or Roon integration. But at this price point the nova150 is chalk full of value. The nova150 checks off virtually every category one could want. Admittedly, I’m searching for the next generation of all-in-one integrateds to take me into downsizing phase of life. The Peachtree nova150 is a definite finalist! -Mark Marcantonio”

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“The Bluesound’s commendable sense of soundstage takes the deceptively complex arrangement of Fink’s No Sleep and creates a convincing and cohesive sense of space in front of the listener. The Spendor A1 undoubtedly helps here, but the Powernode 2i demonstrates that it is extremely capable of making sense of any recording and even the challenging Dionysus by Dead Can Dance is delivered in a remarkably engaging manner. Having said that, the larger scale of this album does reveal the Powernode’s limitations and it begins to sound a little strained as the volume level increases and it may also struggle with less forgiving speakers or to drive larger rooms.

Working within its comfort zone, however, the Bluesound makes for a consistently engaging listen. It has a good grasp of rhythm and timing and delivers a sonic performance that does a fine job of ensuring that less up tempo material flows precisely as it should while also letting the joyously exuberant Tokyo by White Lies move with the pace and impact it deserves. While bass depth is never truly seismic, there is enough pace and detail to connect with and engage any listener.

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“As a desktop hub, the Vena II proved highly attractive as an all-day listening companion, playing everything from radio streams to random music thrown up by Roon radio in a mixture of file formats. It was also able to prove its abilities when used into headphones, driving the likes of the Focal Spirit Pro [HFN Dec ’15] and Bowers & Wilkins P9 Signature [HFN Mar ’17] to impressive effect, the new amp circuitry giving a sound both well-weighty and informative, and with excellent grip on the ‘phones in use.

It was only when I reached the final track of 2002’s The Symphonic Eric Coates [Chandos CHAN 9869] that I was tempted to move the amp back to the listening room and onto the big speakers again to give the music full rein. Yes, I’d given in to temptation, and magnificent the Vena II sounded too, powering out the BBC Philharmonic under Rumon Gamba playing ‘The Dam Busters March’ – it had to be done, really.”

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“I pulled out several of my favorite violin LPs to hear how they would fare with the I1’s phono stage. This last year or so has seen the release of a few newly polished Bach sonatas and partitas, like Julia Fisher’s PentaTone set, recently released on vinyl [PentaTone PTC 5186 664-67] and Giuliano Carmignola’s set of CDs [Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft 483 550]. But I turned to an old favorite, Johanna Martzy’s version from her The EMI Recordings box set [Coup d’ Archet 017-19]. The I1’s phono modules tightened up Martzy’s articulation from what I usually hear listening through a tube phono stage. There was less reverberation from the strings off of the body of the instrument than I heard with the CH Precision P1 or the Audio Research Reference Phono 3. The I1 phono modules exhibited a similar lean and slightly dry signature on older Chess recordings, the ones that usually almost drip with moisture. The Best of Muddy Waters [Chess LP 1427] almost made me wish I still had a Koetsu cartridge on hand to slow things down, just enough to see the sweat drip from Muddy’s face.

But perhaps the biggest surprise came when listening to McCartney [Apple PCS 7102]. One of my favorite LPs, I keep two UK first pressings on hand as a failsafe. John was my favorite Beatle, and when I play McCartney I sometimes worry that John is looking from George’s Cloud Nine ready to wreak retribution unless I give Plastic Ono Band or Imagine equal time. Yet, as many times as I’ve heard the LP, the I1 still made me sit up and listen anew. I thought I knew every tiny nuance on this record, but there it was — an entirely new (to me) bright clicking noise of wood claves that had gone unnoticed until excavated by the I1.”

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” I’d be engaging in a stretcher, as Huck Finn likes to put, if I didn’t confess to indulging in playing some CDs and LPs by the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd at what might be safely termed robust levels. Pushed to these volumes when driving the Wilson Audio WAMMs, the amp didn’t falter but I did pick up on a hint of fatigue. Driven to reasonable SPLs, I never experienced any sense of the Amp II faltering. Rather, it offered a wealth of tonal colors and detail that made it a delight to listen to for hours on end.

When time came to part with the amp, I did so not with a heavy heart—my far more expensive Ypsilon Hyperion monoblock amplifiers are superior, which is what you would expect—but with respect and admiration for a musical amplifier that is punching beyond its weight class. This Amp II is a classic example of what Germany has become the envy of the world for—its Mittelstand, or medium-sized industry, that produces reliable and high-quality products. For anyone seeking a reasonably priced, as the high-end goes, amplifier, the Accustic Arts offers an extremely enticing design.”